1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to portable, self-contained vacuum devices used primarily for cleaning purposes, for medical/dental uses, for specimen collection, or to evacuate air from storage containers for perishable goods.
2. Description of Prior Art
Devices in which a vacuum is created by an air pump driven by an electric motor have been used for decades to gather material, whether for household cleaning, for clearing fluid accumulations during medical or dental procedures, for specimen collection, for evacuating air from food storage containers, and for use in the creative arts. These devices generally have concentrated on applications not requiring portability or self-containment, and have therefore relied upon electric power to drive them. In recent decades, personal size vacuums for cleaning purposes have been developed, but they still generally rely upon electricity, either alternating current or direct current battery (often-rechargeable) power. None of these devices achieve the true portability and self-containment of the claimed invention. Recently, vacuum cleaning devices have yielded to a less effective means of cleaning, especially for consumer electronic devices, in the form of aerosol canisters which discharge dry blasts of gasses to blow away dust and debris. The preference for the aerosol canister cleaning devices is primarily attributable to their hand-held portability rather than any superior cleaning function.
Dust and other small particles have become a serious problem for consumer electronics as well as scientific apparatus of all types. With the large scale introduction of computers and other electronic devices into homes and other locations where climatic and other environmental circumstances are not carefully controlled, dust and particulate trash are constantly being deposited on critical mechanical and electronic components of these complex and expensive devices. The accumulation of unwanted dust and trash can cause short circuits to electronic components and can jam mechanical functions causing permanent damage or other serious problems. The need has arisen for compact, self-contained, readily accessible means for periodically cleaning the particles and other debris from these devices to prevent the damaging and potentially dangerous effects of its accumulation.
Simple wiping or brushing can damage delicate parts, and can cause static electricity discharges, which can permanently damage electronic components. The aerosol containers of compressed gasses recently mass marketed with success in the consumer market, are touted as an effective means of cleaning electronic devices using short, highly-directed blasts of gas intended to blow debris off of delicate components. Various combinations of gasses, with various forms of nozzles and blast-directing devices, have been widely accepted in the consumer market due to their convenience, portability, low cost, and long shelf life. However, the use of blasts of compressed gas as a cleaning method is flawed in concept not only because it fails to remove the unwanted debris from the work environment, but also because it can cause dust and debris to roll or "snowball" into more damaging accumulations and can even force the unwanted debris deeper into components where it might become less retrievable and cause greater damage. If a device were available which was just as portable and convenient, with similar shelf-life and of roughly the same cost, but which physically lifted or removed the unwanted debris from the work environment, then such device should meet with wide acceptance and commercial success.
Certain vacuum devices for small areas have been marketed primarily for use in medical and dental applications, but those proposed have depended on electrical pumps to create the vacuum and have been far from portable. Patents related to these inventions have focused on trapping medical/dental wastes in a manner that prevents them from contaminating the area and infecting others. A method and apparatus for disinfecting fluid medium removed from the oral cavity of a human being has been patented, U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,998, to Hesselgren (1975), which claims to disinfect human saliva and blood, and rinsing fluids, by passing them through a disinfecting zone in which the potentially infectious media is mixed with a disinfectant. However, the media is transported through the device by means of a vacuum created by an electric motor, and is not portable. Separately, a suction receptacle with hygroscopic filter has been patented, U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,798, to Deaton (1979), whereby a hygroscopic filter is used to absorb and retain fluid particles and prevent the passage of potentially infectious waste. This device depends on a vacuum drive created by an electric motor, and therefore also is not portable. The present invention allows for total portability and self-containment, lending itself to application for the decentralized provision of medical and dental health care in remote locations.
The present invention uses a vacuum generated by aspiration created upon the release of gas from an aerosol canister. An aspiration unit has been patented, U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,722, to Van Hale (1994) which, instead of depending on the release of gas to create a vacuum effect from aspiration, depends upon an external vacuum source (presumably powered by electricity) to create the flow which causes the aspiration which is the main point of the Van Hale patent.
A crawling pest eliminator system and method, U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,807, to McQueen (1985) has been patented to eliminate crawling pests, which is a function closely similar to, and subsumed in, specimen collection. The McQueen device is purported to be portable, in that it includes in its design a shoulder harness to permit carrying on one's back. However, this level of portability does not compare to the hand-held portability and electricity-free operation of the present invention. The McQueen device might have greater endurance because of its electrical power supply, but its dependence on an electric motor does not provide as much utility for application in remote field locations as does the present invention.
Generally, vacuum creating devices for small area cleaning or for medical or dental uses or for specimen collection have suffered from one or more of a number of disadvantages:
a) They are not portable.
b) They are not convenient to use in tight working conditions, such as work benches or craft areas.
c) They require electricity for operation.
d) They do not capture specimens and small debris in a sanitary manner.
e) They are not easy to maneuver by hand.
f) Battery driven devices are heavy and do not have a long shelf life.
g) Their replacement parts are complicated and expensive.
h) They are not amenable to mass distribution in consumer markets.
Objects and Advantages
Accordingly, besides having the advantages lacking in the devices currently considered the state of the art, as described above, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
a) The invention, though not obvious, is readily adapted from devices currently marketed with great success.
b) The invention does not merely disperse unwanted debris but rather gathers it in a manner that would permit its total removal from the workspace.
c) The invention is convenient to use and can be operated simply with one hand by simply placing the nozzle of the device at the location from which the debris or specimen is to be removed, then releasing the aerosol propellant.
d) It has a long shelf life, lasting as long as the device remains charged with aerosol propellant.
e) There are no batteries or motor or pump parts to wear out.
f) It is totally self-contained.
g) It can be manufactured in a fashion that makes it economical enough to be disposable.
h) By using various additives in the propellant, the invention can easily apply an evenly dispersed application of disinfectant, preservative, or the like to the collected debris or specimens, thereby treating the captured debris or specimen at the same moment that it is collected.
i) It is amenable to applications for household cleaning, electronic repairs, medicine, dentistry, food preservation, and crafts.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.